When we were in London for Christmas, we were lucky enough (thanks to airbnb) to have our own kitchen equipped with basic spices, seasonings, appliances and utensils in order to cook Christmas dinner since everything would be closed or extremely expensive. We were also fortunate that the apartment's owner was a fan of reading and had an entire cookbook section of his bookshelf, including Jamie Oliver's "Ministry of Food," which included a host of traditional British recipes. We decided to go with a classic roast, a common Sunday and holiday meal in England. This recipe is an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's perfect roast beef; it is perfect for a simple but impressive dinner, and then almost better the next day with some horseradish as a cold roast beef sandwich.

Beef Rump Roast

{serves 4}

ingredients

beef rump, around 1.5 lbs

2 medium onions, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

6 yukon gold/red bliss potatoes, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 whole bulb garlic

1 bunch fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 stalk fresh rosemary

olive oil

coarse salt

ground black pepper

red wine

method

Take the beef out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Set oven to 475F. Spread all the chopped veggies, herbs, and garlic cloves (not peeled) in a baking dish. Drizzle beef with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper before placing it over the vegetables in the dish. Add a splash of red wine to the dish - this will keep the beef moist and add flavor. Put the beef in the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 400F. Cook for 50 minutes to an hour, depending on how rare you like it, and basting at 30 minutes. Serve over roasted vegetables - and you might as well finish off that bottle you opened too!